You can't die in Heat Signature's Halloween event

Instead, you turn into a skeleton that can spacewalk indefinitely.

I like it when holiday events in games add a new mechanic or game mode rather than just some spooky skins (some of the old TF2 Scream Fortress updates spring to mind). So I'm pleased that Heat Signature, the 2D space stealth 'em up, is doing something interesting this Halloween: until November 1, you can't die in the game. If you suffocate, bleed out, or get incinerated by an exploding pod you'll permanently turn into a living skeleton.

Your lack of lungs means you'll be able to spacewalk indefinitely, which is handy. Plus, when you're on a ship your cold, undead bones won't show up on guards' heat sensors, which is even handier. You'll remain a skeleton until Halloween, after which any lethal damage will kill you as normal.

Elsewhere in Space Halloween, ships that normally have skeleton crews now have...actual skeleton crews. Missions with a Ghost Clause (you can't be seen and can't knock out or kill anybody) turn you into an actual ghost. People can still see you in ghost form but can't damage you, and you'll return to normal when the mission ends.

But can you become a skeleton ghost? "That’s a ridiculous question. Of course you can become a skeleton ghost," the developer said in a blog post announcing the changes.

Disclosure: Heat Signature creator Tom Francis was an editor at PC Gamer for 10 years, leaving in 2013 after the release of his first game, Gunpoint. Tom occasionally contributes guest articles to PC Gamer.